WHY HER VOTE COUNTS

In the Battle for Bengal, which goes to polls simultaneously with four other Indian states this April, the woman voter seems to be getting some extra attention. Not without reason, and even as all other possible lines of attack and/ or appeasement are also being pursued in tandem.

- Romita Datta

It’s not simply their numerical significance that is making all political parties queue up; it’s also the observed increased proclivity of women to turn up for the vote: in Bihar, which went to polls most recently in October-November last year, more women (59.7 per cent) turned out to vote than men (54.7 per cent). And so it is that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), its primary challenger BJP, and even the Congress have all activated their women’s wings. Each of them is busily taking down the other’s record on issues such as women’s safety and jostling to highlight what they have done for women’s welfare.

At 35.9 million, women voters comprise roughly half the state’s electorate— and have come a long way from the days of being terrorized to keep their men indoors on election day, when the Left was in power (bales of white cloth, signifying a widow’s attire, would be sent to them). They are now more vocal against injustices and demanding their rights. They can be seen craning their necks at Mamata Banerjee’s rallies and shouting out their grievances in the middle of the chief minister’s speeches. “Earlier, Mamata would have them arrested, as she did in 2013 when a farmer tried to question her about the rising fertilizer prices during a political rally. But now she’s giving them a hearing, as the times have changed,” says a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.